The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-12-14

Difficulties Of 81 the 81 ar sopatys
Days of ofLabor-TheT TronbieEWitH
Sneakiuc Claim-Jumpers. ''FsTs
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of the mountain which he has selected as
the scene of his explorations he notes
every change in the structure or the
composition of the rocks. When a
favorable locality is reached, locality
where the geological formation indicates
the presence of gold, he stops at the first
spring of water, unpacks his Outfit,
pitches his tent, if he has one, which is
rarely the case, pickets his tired mule,
gathers few rocks and places them in
the form of q horseshoe on the ground,
to serve as stove, and then, with bent
head and watchful eyes. carefully scans
every gulch and mountain side, prizes
into every nook and Granny in quest of
those signs which Mother Nature always
posts near the spot where she has hidden
her precious treasures.
Far up en- the rugged fanks of that
storm-riven mountain the gold-hunter
breaks off q piece of rock from ledge,
and 10! it is tiecked with bright, yellow
specks, not unlike that metal which all
mankind is so glad to possess. His
heart beats fast as he examines the speci-
men. He vets the bright srccks with
his tongue and picks at them nervously
with his penknife. They crumble at the
touch of that instrument, and then he
throws the rock down with an angry
gesture, and mutters disappointedly:
"Pilgrim gold, be gosh."
Now he is down yonder in the gulch,
which seems as though it might be the
repository of a vast amount of the yell
low metal, digging hole IN the gravel.
The trend of the rift is north and south.
Nature never piled up drift in that man
ncr, especially in ravine in this range
of mountains without sprinkling it with
gold.
The shaft is down three feet, and now
the miner fills his pan with gravel from
the bottom Of the pit and washes it in a
stream. Yes, there is gold in the drift,
for on the bottom of the pan glisten
three colors. They are mere specs, it
is true, but they arc the genuine article,
and no mistake. This small find cncour-
ages the toiler to continue his search, for
he knows the heavier particles of gold,
no matter what may have been their
position in the drift when it was first de-
posted, will not rest easy until they have
reached the bedrock and found a crevice
for their grave. And so he sinks the
shaft to the bedrock, twelve feet or
more. He drifts east along the rock, he
drifts west, north and south, and finds
the precious stuff everywhere, but not in
sufficient quantities to pay.
Again he is up on that cliff. How did
he manage to scale those perpendicular
walls which form its sides. 1t seems as
though nothing but bird could find
foothold, and yet there he is dancing
wildly around something that glitters in
the sunlight like an enormous ball of sill
yer. That pile is ore, rich in silver and
lead. He has just dug it out of the
ground. Is it any wonder, then, that he
Is in an ecstasy of delight, for it seems
as though he had struck it rich at last.
He sits down for moment and stares
toward the East with yearning look in
his soft gray eyes. He is thinking, per-
haps, of the home of his childhood, and
how he has met with success at last. He
leaps into the pit again and digs away
for dear life. But the walls of the lode
have suddenly come together. 1t was
merely pocket of ore, and will never
make him or anybody else rich; and for
tune who seemed so near to him moment
ago was rs far away as ever.
The "pinching out" of that lode only
disheartens our prospector for moment
or so. for there he is now driving tun-
mel at the foot of that granite boss.
There is q fine lot of ore lying at the
mouth of the opening. 1t is sugary,
comfy, drusy quartz, and is sprinkled
here aud there with gold. Carefully ex-
anime the granite walls of the lode and
see how clean they are. The most skill
full workman could not have made them
so smooth or polished them half so well.
Observe those shining punches of crys-
tails there in the heading, asure sign that
the vein is live one. 1t is six feet be-
tween walls, and the lead matter aver
ages $40 per ton. 1t is surely ricn
ledge, and the miners fondest hopes may
yet be realized.
But who are those two men who have
Just come ovel the crest of the hill above
the tunnel. One Of them has a woodcr.
box under his arm. 1t has no cover AMI
there is paper containing some writing
fastened on the inner side of its bottom.
They are a villainous-l looking pair these
two and are there for no good purpose.
See how they crawl along, almost on
their stomachs. They conduct them
selves as though some one might see
them and make target of their worth
less carcasses. But nobody molests them.
They have come to C halt, set the box
down on its end and piled loose rocks
around it to keep it in place, and then
sneak off the way they came like couple
of cowardly coyotes, which they closely
resemble.
These two worthless belong to that dis
reputable class known in the West
as "claim jumpers" They haze been
sent out by some covetous spcculator,
who wants the earth and who sticks at
nothing to get it, or at least large slice
of it. He has learned in some way of
this promising prospect, and has en-